The pressure on the Bulgarian-Turkish border has increased by nearly 50% since the beginning of 2023. About 500 illegal migrants try to cross into Bulgaria every day but most of the attempts are being stopped, Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev, who visited Belitsa, said. He expects 1/3 of the new transfer allocated by the EU for guarding the external borders to go to Bulgaria.

"On Tuesday, we will have talks with the financier of the European Commission, then we shall have complete clarity. The total resource allocated for all external borders is about 600 million euros, as the Bulgarian-Turkish border is a priority. Finally, we would get to the construction of a solid fence, such as the one in Greece, which was built with funds allocated by the Commission," Demerdzhiev added.

Translation: Al. Markov